A Daughter To Be Proud Of
by Fortywinx
Summary: Tharria has been trained from childhood to fight, act and be like a SeeD in every way, except in name. Her father will never accept that his once weakling daughter could become a powerful fighter, but Tharria will go to any lengths to prove that she can l
1. Roar Of The Lioness

A Daughter To Be Proud Of

A Daughter To Be Proud Of

Chapter 1.

The girl sat in the train station, trying to ignore the rowdy boys who were messing about nearby. Her dark brown hair fell across her eyes, and she flicked it back, while carefully keeping her dark eyes staring straight ahead. 

The train that would take her back to Balamb, finally arrived, and she gratefully climbed on. Placing her card in the slot provided, the computer asked what she would like to do.

'Please credit to cost to Balamb Garden.' She replied steadily

'PLEASE STATE NAME AND NUMBER.'

'Leonhart-Loire, Tharria. Number, three-four-six-alpha.'

The computer spat out her card, and told her to proceed to the carriage. 

She flopped herself into a seat, and tried not fall asleep. Dad, was gonna kill her as it was anyway, without falling asleep and missing her stop, to add to her crimes.

Finally in Balamb, she caught the last bus back to Balamb Garden, and sat herself in one corner away from the rest of the travellers. Mostly, SeeDs on their way back after a night out. Thankfully they were too drunk to recognise her, and talked among themselves about the highly successful mission, that was the reason for their celebration. Tharria, just stared out of the window, and watched the landscape roll by, a slight worried frown creasing her forehead.

The apartment she shared with her parents was dark, as she tip-toed towards her bedroom. A door opened and light flashed across the hallway,

'What sort of time do you call this?' 

Busted. 

Turning to face her father, Tharria prepared herself for the worst.

'Well?' he said, standing in the doorway of the bedroom, 'You said you'd be back by 9:00, and now it's gone 11:30. Your mum and I were worried sick.'

'Well, I stayed at Elette's house longer than I thought, and when I got to the train station the next train to Balamb wasn't for an hour! So I had to wait, and then I caught the last bus back.'

Her father glowered at her, his arms crossed across his chest. He looked about to say something more, when her mother appeared beside him.

'Squall, leave it till tomorrow morning,' she said, taking his arm,

Mum always seemed to calm Dad down when he was annoyed with something, usually his errant daughter, who always seemed to be doing something which displeased him. Tharria loved her mother so much. She was beautiful, and clever and had practically raised Tharria by herself, since Squall had always been busy with the running of Garden.

She watched as the frown slid off Squalls face, and he sighed,

'Ok, I'm coming to bed, but I am going to speak about this tomorrow,' he said firmly

'Of course , dear,' said Rinoa, and gave Tharria a lopsided smile when Squall turned to go back to bed, 'G'night, darling,' she said, and shut the door.

Tharria lay in her bed and felt angry. Angry that she'd been late home, and given Squall a chance to be angry with her. Angry that he was never satisfied with anything she did, no matter how much better it was than many of the SeeD trainees. His daughter had to be perfect, which of course she was not.

She rolled over, and sat up. She looked at herself in the mirror of her dressing table, a girl with long brown hair, not as light as her dad's, but paler than her mothers. Dark brown eyes like mum, but she realised she shared dad's face shape, except she only frowned when she was worried or stressed. When that happened, people often teased her, saying how much she looked like Garden's Headmaster/Commander, not realising how much she disliked being associated with him.

The girl in the mirror stared defiantly back as Tharria looked on. Tall for a 16yr old, fit and slightly muscular. Even though she wasn't a SeeD or training to be one, Squall had taught her how to use his weapon of choice, and she'd had to perfect every move till she was beating even the _SeeD's_ trained to use gunblades. Even that hadn't been good enough for Dad. When she did better than everyone else, she got no praise, only 'let's move on to the next thing'.

Ach, she felt disgusted with herself, no point in sitting up all night moping. She looked sidelong at her gunblade which leaned against her wardrobe, and grinned. A session in the Training Area would take her mind off things. Briefly, she thought of the trouble she would be in if she was caught, but then decided she was already in trouble and this would be her last chance to train before Squall grounded her.

Pulling on her tight dark blue jeans and her hooded, pale blue, jersey jacket, she picked up the gunblade and headed towards the training area.

When she got there, she was promptly met by a monster who tried to poison her with its tentacles. Dodging out of the way, she charged in and hit it with the gunblade. The monster fell back with a cry of pain and began to cast some kind of a spell on her. Tharria retaliated by striking back with another attack from the gunblade, being careful not to pull the trigger. She knew the noise of a gunshot after curfew would cause questions to be asked. She was hit by poison, and immediately began to feel weak. Thrusting her hand into her pocket she found a vial of the antidote, and quickly drank it. The affects quickly dissipated. The monster screeched in fury and lashed out with a tentacle. Tharria swung the gunblade around, and chopped off half of the monsters tentacle. Facing it squarely, Tharria lowered her blade and closed her eyes. The monster charged in for the kill, but was thrown back by the firaga spell which Tharria had cast. She casually walked over to it's charred remains to check it was dead, and then moved on.

Peeking into the Secret Area, she could see that no-one was there. Too late even for lovers to be about. She walked over to the low balcony, and leaned on it. 

The moon was full and bright, and the stars twinkled above. It was beautiful up here, in the dead of night, when silence was her only company. Under the moon and stars she could think things through, and she could cry alone, about the father who had been seemingly jealous about the love her mother gave her, since she had been born.

It was a good thing she had no brothers and sisters, because they would have needed even more of Rinoa's love and nurturing. Although, perhaps it might've been good to have brothers and sisters. That way Rinoa wouldn't dote on her only daughter the way she did. Tharria knew why Rinoa spoilt her, and why she was an only child. Rinoa couldn't have anymore children. They had only discovered it after the near disastrous birth of Tharria.

It had turned out that Sorceresses had trouble bearing children, due to the fact that their bodies would reject the child because they were not part of the Sorceress's being. That was what explained Cid and Edea's lack of children, and why Edea had become the matron of an orphanage. 

As it was, nobody could explain how Tharria had survived. She had been born prematurely, terribly weak and small, destined to grow up to be a sickly child who always needed care and attention. But Tharria had defied that fate, thanks to her fathers scathing looks when she acted 'weak' as a young girl. She had worked hard and became strong, stronger than many SeeD's, but still it was not enough for her demanding father.

Sighing, Tharria took one last look at the brilliant moon, and left the secret area.

Her head bowed, and lost in thought, she didn't notice the T-Rexaur until it's claw knocked her flyng across the training area. Standing up and shaking her head to get rid of the dizziness, Tharria readied her gunblade. 

The T-Rexaur roared defiantly, and charged. Tharria leapt out of the way, and began to cast protect on herself. She was knocked flying by T-Rexaur's tail, the 'protect' spell took the brunt of the assault, but Tharria's gunblade flew from her hand. She flipped up from her lying position, only to see the T-Rexaur's tail coming for her again. She back-flipped to avoid it, and began to cast sleep on it. 

The spell hit the huge beast, and it shook it's head drowsily. Tharria grinned at herself, until she saw the brief affects wear off.

Damn, it missed. A claw narrowly missed her face as she dived to one side and rolled up to a standing position. Where the hell was the gunblade? She thought glancing around looking for it. There it was, just beside that bush behind the T-Rexuar. Glancing at the monster, she cast Blizzaga on it, and charged towards her weapon, as it was briefly stunned by the spell. She bent to pick it up, only to be hit in the back, and knocked face-down onto the floor. Not fast enough, she mentally cursed herself. 

Rolling over, she saw the T-Rexaur roaring over her prone form triumphantly. 

A spell hit the T-Rexaur, and it looked startled, before falling into a deep slumber.

Tharria leapt up to see who had helped her. The tall blonde haired SeeD cadet smiled at her, and adjusted the gloves on his hands. Tharria recognised him as the son of Squall's best friend. 

What was his name again? Oh yeah, Dincht. Kieran Dincht.

'Looked like you were havin a bit of trouble there,' he said cheerfully.

Tharria looked embarressed, 'Yeah, well….thanks.'

'Hey it's no trouble,' was the jaunty reply, 'Although I was surprised to see that a SeeD needed help.'

She smiled at the inadvertent compliment, 'I'm not a SeeD,' she replied.

He stared at her, 'Well I know you're not a cadet, coz I'd recognise you from class, so what are you doing in the Training Area, if you're not a SeeD?'

Walking over to pick up her blade, she looked at him with arched eyebrows and said, 'I was _Training _in the Training Area.'

She began to walk away towards the exit, her gunblade sheathed at her belt.

'But, if you're not a SeeD, or a cadet, then what do you need to train for?' 

She stopped, angry, because the question brought up images of Squall drilling her endlessly on strikes, and sweeps with her blade. Why did she train so hard? Because she wanted to prove to herself that she could? No, said the more honest part of herself, it was to prove to Squall that she would be the best. To prove that he was wrong in thinking she would break under the endlessness of not living up to his standards. To prove to him that she wasn't a weakling, and was worthy of his praise. 

All this flashed through her mind, but in reply to Kieren, she merely said, 'That T-Rexaur isn't gonna stay asleep forever you know. I'm getting out of here while it's in the land of nod, I advise that you do the same.'

Kieren turned around to check the T-Rexaur was still asleep, and when he turned back, the girl had gone.

He walked along the corridor towards his dormitory, his gloved hands shoved into his pockets, and shoulders hunched. What had made him go to the Training Centre anyway? Well he hadn't been able to sleep of course, but why go there? He shrugged mentally, as he slipped into the dark room he shared with another cadet. He walked into his own room and sat on the bed. 

He still wondered who she was. He felt like he knew her from somewhere. Perhaps he'd seen her working around Garden. 

He pulled off his boots and pushed them under the bad. Yeah, that was probably it. She was some kind of librarian, or cleaner he'd seen about. He paused in the act of undoing his jacket. But that couldn't be right, she carried a gunblade, which she held like she knew how to use it.

A gunblade….Who else carried a gunblade? Well not many people. It was a highly specialised weapon. The famed Squall Leonhart used one, and Seifer Almasy, Head of the Disciplinary Committee. Few SeeDs had been trained to use one, and only one cadet in his class was being trained to use a gunblade. He lay back on the bad, and put his hands under his head.

Squall Leonhart did have a daughter, though, he remembered, and then dismissed the thought. Everyone knew the story of the strange birth that shouldn't have happened. Because of the fame of Rinoa Heartilly and Squall Leonhart-Loire, the birth of their daughter had been highly publicised. Even though he had been only a baby too, the story was one which was frequently brought back up by the newspapers. He shook his head. It couldn't be her. Their baby was very weak, and he remembered the newspaper articles that described her every little cold as a threat to her life. No, it couldn't be Tharria Leonhart-Loire.


	2. Waltz For The Moon

Chapter 2 ****

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I forgot to put one into the first chapter, so here it is. I do not own any of the Final Fantasy chars, they all belong to Squaresoft…the lucky swines…

All non-Final Fantasy characters belong to me, so please ask if you want to use them. 

****

Sorry for all those who wanted more action in this chapter, I'm afraid there isn't any in here. I promise in the next chapter things will definitely hot up. Thanks to everyone who reviewed so far, and to everyone else PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! Thanks….

Hallie Kinneas ran through the halls of Balamb Garden, her to long auburn pigtails flying behind her. Charging around the corner she crashed into a tall dark haired girl who looked about her age.

'Oh god! I'm sorry,' she exclaimed, 'Are you ok?'

The girl looked at her distractedly, 'Yeah, I'm fine.'

*Woah, she sure looks down* thought Hallie, 'Hey are you ok? D'you wanna go to the canteen and talk bout it?'

The girl gave her a strange look, 'No I'm ok…Thanks though.' She smiled gratefully, and hurried off down the corridor.

Hallie frowned to herself, she was sure she recognised the girl from somewhere, but she wasn't wearing a cadet uniform…Hallie glanced at her watch, and charged off down the hallway again. She was going to be late for meeting Kieren again.

Tharria turned and watched the other girl run off in the opposite direction, and sighed sadly. None of the SeeD's or cadets had ever spoken to her like that before. The SeeD's she had sparred with under Squall's tutelage had only dirty looks and snide comments for her. Tharria understood why of course. I mean who wouldn't be annoyed at being beaten by someone, in most cases, quite a bit younger than them.

Mind you she didn't walk around Garden much, so she didn't meet many cadets or SeeDs. Of course now that was the only thing she _could _do. After a flaming row with daddy dearest, he had grounded her, and she had stormed out.

As she slouched along the corridor with her hands shoved into the pockets of her loose jeans, she thought she heard a voice she recognised coming towards her.

Bounding around the corner, she threw herself into the arms of the dark haired man who was walking down the corridor. He smiled at her,

'And how's my favourite Granddaughter then?' he asked cheerfully, when she let him go.

Tharria smiled wanly, 'I'm your _only_ Granddaughter,'

Laguna gave her a big grin. Tharria smiled back. She loved her Grandfather a lot. She had so much more respect for him than that bumbling idiot she called 'Dad', and she often wondered how Laguna had had such a moody son as Squall. 

Laguna was at Garden on business, what with him being President of Esthar, but he chatted to amiably to Tharria as they headed for the lift.

Tharria sat in the corner of the room, listening to the important discussion, all the while Squall frowning in her direction as if to indicate that she shouldn't be there.

Squall sighed and rubbed his temple, 'I can send a company of 3 SeeDs to Esthar for you Laguna, but they'll be newly broken in. The latest batch of cadets are taking their exam tomorrow, we have high hopes that most of them will pass.'

Laguna nodded, 'We'll wait till after the exam and they can come back to Esthar with us in the Ragnorok.'

'Can I ask why you need them, Laguna?' Squall asked, getting out the contract forms from his desk.

Laguna stared off into the distance, and then briefly glanced at Rinoa who was sitting just behind Squall..

'A rebel faction we only know as S.K, have been causing trouble in Esthar. There have been several suspicious deaths among my loyal associates, and we have discovered that they are planning to disrupt the carnival to celebrate the downfall of sorceress Adel.' Laguna stopped and looked a little sheepish..

'It's always carnivals isn't it?' said Squall sardonically. Laguna and Rinoa looked amused, but Thadia had no idea what they were talking about.

'We want the SeeDs to infiltrate their hideout and take them into custody, or to use necessary force to bring them to justice.' Laguna continued.

'I still can't see why you need SeeDs for this job Laguna. Why can't the Esthar police arrest what seems to be simple protestors?'

Laguna looked troubled for a minute, 'The people who have been investigating S.K, are under the impression that they are not simple protestors, but in fact are terrorists.

They found evidence of an apparent bombing they were planning in Esthar city centre. There was no bomb threat, or warning, but sure enough when bomb disposal reached the site there was an explosive set to go off at the time specified.'

Squall raised his eyebrows, 'We never heard anything of that on the news.'

Laguna gave him a lopsided smile, 'You wouldn't have, we hushed it up.' He looked troubled again before continuing, 'They also found several other things that S.K planned. One of them was my assasination.'

Rinoa looked at Laguna shocked, and Squall's expression had become troubled like that of his father.

Tharria felt tears well up inside her. *If anything happened to Grandfather…* She pushed the thought away along with her tears. Grandfather would be fine, he had a mass of bodyguards if necessary.

Squall must have seen her sad face because he told her to leave because this was business and had nothing to do with her.

Tharria stood up, fists clenched, 'Fine. Tell me when the things that involve my family are 'my business', and maybe then I'll give a damn.' She turned and stomped from the room.

She knew it wasn't true of course as she headed for her room. She didn't know what she'd do if something happened to Grandfather, but the mere thought brought tears to her eyes.

Squall sighed and rested his face on one hand at his desk,

'I don't know where I went wrong raising that kid,' he said jokingly to Laguna.

Instead of smiling, Laguna turned to him seriously, 'Perhaps it's the fact that you drive her so hard and hardly ever show any feeling towards her?' He shook his head and smiled wanly as an apology, 'Sorry, Squall but it had to be said.'

'What would you know about parenthood Laguna, you didn't even know I existed!' 

Squall immediately felt bad. He knew that it was a sore spot with Laguna that he hadn't been there through Squall's childhood.

Laguna looked at him sadly, 'Yes, and I'll probably regret that fact for the rest of my life. Don't make the same mistake I did, Squall. Be there for her, and be a father.' With that, Laguna turned and left the office.

Squall felt Rinoa come and stand beside him, and then crouched, resting her arms on the desk.

'He's right isn't he?' Said Squall, finally.

Rinoa smiled that beautiful smile he loved so much and said, 'If you need to ask you already know the answer, Squall.'

Squall nodded, 'I just hope it's not too late.'

Kieren sat in the water skimmer, and grinned at the rest of his group. Hallie Kinneas smiled back tiredly, and gave him the thumbs up. Their other group member, Lars Torade, grinned at Kieren before staring back out at the waves they were quickly crossing.

'We did it!' said Hallie, explosively as they entered Garden, 'We actually did it!'

'Yeah, but did we pass?' Said Lars.

Kieren slapped him on the back, nearly knocking him over, 'Yeah, of course we passed. We stuck to orders and everything went fine. Don't worry bout it.'

All the cadets gathered outside the lift to wait and see if they had passed the SeeD exam. 

Kieren was leaned against the wall, staring intently into space. Lars was pacing up and down nervously, and Hallie was being even more hyperactive than normal. Bouncing around and talking to everyone excitedly. Mind you, she was doing a good job of calming them down in some ways. Reassuring them that 'she was sure they'd all passed'.

The Instructor came down the lift and walked across the walkway before stopping in front of the gathered cadets.

'First to be called to see the Commander are the following. Defroe, Elita. Chase, Skylar. Banks, Ethan.'

The three called out followed the Instructor up the lift, all the while exclaiming their shock to one another, and patting each other on the back.

The rest of the cadets went back to their different ways of waiting.

The three new SeeDs came back into the hall, welcomed by cheers from the rest of the cadets, shortly before the Instructor reappeared.

'Next. To be called up. Dincht, Kieren. Kinneas, Hallie. Lithgrow, Carn.'

Kieren looked around to his friend Lars. He looked upset even though he smiled at Kieren, and gave him the thumbs up.

Kieren followed the instructor up the lift in a sort of daze. Hallie was bouncing up and down beside him in her excitement. The other guy, Carn, was grinning from ear to ear and talked excitedly with Hallie.

They stepped into the office. Commander Squall Leonheart, stood in front of his desk.

The cadets lined up in front of him and saluted. 

'At ease.' He said, 'I would like to congratulate you all on becoming our newest SeeD members. Your SeeD rank has been assesed from your exam, and you will be paid accordingly. The SeeD ball will be tonight, and you are all expected to attend dressed in your SeeD uniforms.'

He gave them a rare smile, 'Try to enjoy yourselves. You are dismissed.'

Hallie gave a whoop of joy, and ran towards the lift. Kieren and Carn followed behind.

As Kieren walked away from the lift amid cheers from the other cadets, he heard the Instructor call out the last names.

'Next is the following. Yedill, Bendix. Hardy, Alab. Torade, Lars. That is all.'

Groans and tears from the remaining cadets who hadn't passed, but nonetheless they cheered for those that had.

Kieren smiled as he walked away. At least Lars had made it.

Tharria hid herself in the corner of the ballroom and watched the dancers. She couldn't understand why her mother had told her to come. She wasn't a SeeD, she didn't know any SeeDs, and she didn't particularly want to stand around and talk to various important people as her parents did.

A lively waltz started. And Rinoa looked expectantly at Squall. To Tharria's amazement, he smiled and took her out onto the dance floor where they began to dance perfectly to the music.

Tharria was still staring at them with her mouth open when a tall dark haired SeeD came up and tapped her on the shoulder.

She shut her mouth quickly and looked at him expectantly.

'Would you take this dance with me?' He asked, smiling at her, showing his perfect even white teeth.

She smiled shyly at him. He was cute!

'I'm sorry, but I've never danced before in my life.' 

He flashed a smile at her again, 'Don't worry just do what I do, I'll show you as we go along.' Taking her hand he lead her to the dance floor.

Afterwards, Tharria felt exhilarated. They had danced for several dances, all the while he quietly giving her instructions and talking about other things which interested her.

Finally, she had excused herself saying she needed a drink. He smiled, and nodded before disappearing into the crowd.

Tharria knew she was smiling happily. She really didn't care what anyone thought of her. After taking a drink and sitting down, she surveyed the crowd for her dance partner or someone she knew. Her eyes came to rest on her mother and father who were currently standing alone and talking to one side. 

Rinoa looked up, and grinned mischeviously at Tharria. Squall frowned at her, and looked disapproving for a moment. Oh dear, thought Tharria. Daddy wants to keep his little girl safe. Of all the times to become protective, she thought. 

Rinoa leaned over and whispered in his ear, and his face softened a little. He looked back at his daughter, and gave her a crooked smile, before someone moved in between their line of sight. 

Authors Notes: I'd like to say that the name 'Skylar Chase' which I used as a SeeD cadets name, is a character belonging to my friend, and if anyone steals it I will hunt them down.

LOL


	3. Shadow On Board

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Final Fantasy 8 characters, and I ain't getting paid for this ****

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Final Fantasy 8 characters, and I ain't getting paid for this. They belong to Squaresoft, and _they_ get all the money from them.

Chapter 3

Tharria leaned over the balcony sipping her wine and watching the stars. She hadn't seen her dance partner since she'd left him to have a rest. She sighed to herself. I didn't even get his name, she thought. Far below the Ragnorok shone in the light of the moon and the floodlights around it. People were already busy carrying things into the cargo hold and making minor repairs. Tharria thought it was strange that these people were working through the night, and through a party too, but then she remembered the President of Esthar was leaving first thing in the morning along with his group of SeeDs.

Not much security, Tharria thought idly. Anyone could dressed in overalls could walk right in there and no-one would be any the wiser. She sipped her wine thoughtfully. Hmmm, perhaps there was a way for her to help Grandfather. She was beginning to formulate a plan when she spotted 3 figures in SeeD uniforms heading towards the huge red ship. She guessed that they were the team who were being sent to Esthar to settle the rebels. 

The 2 men and 1 girl stood around and seemed to be talking to various mechanics and workers. Tharria frowned. She was sure she recognised the dark haired guy. Leaning forward over the balcony to get a better look, she realised it was her dance partner! He turned away from the mechanic he'd been talking too, and walked a little way before stopping suddenly and looking up at the sky. Tharria raised her head automatically to see what he was looking at. She gasped. The sky was alive with little falling points of light. She watched the meteor shower for a few minutes before turning her eyes back to the dark haired SeeD. He was staring straight at her. She smiled, before turning and walking back into the ballroom.

Rinoa was standing near the doorway chatting to some SeeDs. 

'Hey mum, I'm going up to the apartment.' Said Tharria, rubbing her head tiredly, 'I'm tired out. I'll see you in the morning.'

Rinoa smiled, 'Goodnight then. Sleep tight.' She said, pecking Tharria on the cheek before turning back to the SeeDs.

As soon as she was sure that she couldn't be seen by anyone going in or out of the ballroom, she hitched up her dress and ran towards the lift.

Ten minutes later she was stepping back out of the lift on the ground floor, dressed in her usual clothes with a bag slung over a shoulder. She headed for the large garages where most repairs to vehicles and machines were done. 

She walked straight into the busy area, carefully placing her face in a look of someone who knew where they were going. The trick was to act like she was supposed to be here and to radiate confidence. It was strange but if you acted like nobody would dare to stop you from doing what you wanted, people often didn't. 

Tharria spotted some overalls hanging on some pegs, and quickly pulled one over her clothing. There was a cap which went with the overalls. Tharria put in on in the hopes that it would prevent people from seeing her face. 

'Hey you!' A voice shouted from behind her making her jump. She turned trying to act calm.

'Yeah?'

A man in a dirty overall gestured to her rucksack which was now on the floor, 'Is that part of the luggage to go on the ship?'

'Umm..yeah..one of the SeeDs gave it to me.'

The man nodded, 'Alright then, put it on with this lot and you can wheel it in.'

Tharria realised he must be some kind of supervisor and so nodded and said, 'Alright, guv.'

She moved her bag to a trolley with large crates on it, happy to see the man wander off to harass some workers who were having a quick smoke. Pushing the trolley onto the lift underneath the Ragnorok, she felt her and the trolley move upwards.

People were moving around inside the cargo bay too. More men and women dressed in overalls were manoeuvring crates and boxes into place, some were walking around with clipboards, and Tharria had no idea what the rest of them were doing. She smiled inwardly. Perfect.

She moved the trolley off to one side, and workers came over to move the crates into piles. It took two people to carry the crates and they were _heavy_. Tharria knew because she helped to move them, and it was then that she noticed that some had left a clipboard on top of a crate. Looking around to check that none of the other workers were looking she picked up the clipboard and headed purposefully towards the other side of the cargo bay, every now and then she would appear to stop and check a pile of crates and write something down.

It was during this façade that someone bumped into her roughly. Keeping in character she looked haughtily at the scruffy worker. He mumbled an apology and stomped off in the opposite direction. Tharria noticed that he kept looking around as if checking for people watching him. Definitely a suspicious character she decided, but she couldn't tell anyone in case she revealed her own identity. 

Finally she was out into a corridor. There were still workers down here, moving things, adjusting things. She stopped and asked a woman working on a wall panel, where the sleeping quarters were. 

'There off in that direction. Take the first lift you come to.' She frowned at Tharria slightly, 'Why d'you want to go up there?'

'Oh, boss wants me to check that everything's working up there,' she rolled her eyes theatrically. 'I think they've already been checked but I just do what I'm told.'

The woman grinned, 'Yeah he's always getting people to do pointless little jobs like that.'

'Well thanks anyway.' Tharria said hurrying off in the direction the woman had indicated. There were less people down here but so long as she glanced at her clipboard every now and then and looked like she was doing something important no-one even glanced at her.

Finally she was at the lift. She walked in confidently, and pressed the button for the next level. The lift doors opened to reveal an empty corridor. She stepped forward and headed for the end where it branched off to the right. As she neared the junction she could here voices coming from further down the corridor. She saw 2 figures come out of one of the rooms and had just enough time to nip around the corner and into the open door of a dark room.

'….well that's the SeeD rooms checked out, lets go to the bar and I'll buy you a drink…' Said one of the men as they walked passed the turn off. Tharria couldn't hear the other mans reply because they were already at the lift.

Confident they were gone she switched the light on in the room. A simple bed, desk and closet. Suddenly bed seemed very inviting. After shutting the main door and discovering that another door lead to a small bathroom, Tharria removed the overalls and lay down to think things over. She turned off the light to prevent people from seeing the light through the window although the blind was down so she thought that unlikely, still it paid to be careful.

She awoke to the sound of huge engines being ignited, and sat up cursing to herself. She hadn't meant to fall asleep, although it might have been for the best considering how tired she would have been today. She peeked through the blinds to see that the sun was just rising over the horizon. Laguna sure liked early starts. The Ragnorok shuddered and rose off the ground.

She jumped when the loud speaker crackled.

'SeeDs please report to the bridge. All security personnel please be on the look out for suspicious activity as we believe we have a stowaway. Over and out.'

Tharria breathed deeply to stay calm. How had they found out about her so fast? Surely mum and dad hadn't taken it into their heads to start checking she was asleep before going to bed and breakfast? No that couldn't be right. They'd stopped coming into her room at her request because she liked her privacy. It was all well and good but it did mean that she had to clean out her waste paper bin and laundry basket whenever they were full, as opposed to Rinoa doing it.

Tharria shook her head roughly and stood up. Now was not the time to be thinking about laundry, she scolded herself. She heard booted footsteps and lowered voices head towards the lift. That would be the SeeDs. A sudden thought occurred to her. How likely would they be to look in the SeeDs rooms? After all they had been in them all night and were unlikely to be housing any stowaways. She stepped out into the corridor cautiously. There was nobody about so she quickly headed for the room which she had seen the workers leaving the night before. 

After shutting the door behind her, she turned and surveyed the room. Huh, a guys room by the look of it. A bag on the bed had socks hanging out of it, and she tripped over a pair of boots on the floor. Kneeling down she peered under the bed. 

It would be a tight fit, but she thought she could squeeze into the small space. It was the obvious place to look she knew but perhaps if she made it look obvious that no-one was hiding in this room…

She went and opened the main door, and then pushed the bag and boots underneath the bed before climbing under the bed herself. In the cramped space she just had enough room to manoeuvre the bag and boots in so they would hide part of her if anyone looked under the bed. Pushing herself back against the wall where the shadow was at its darkest she waited.

Sure enough she heard the lift doors swish open a short while later. Two pairs of booted feet clumped down the passage checking every room it seemed. Finally Tharria could hear their voices.

'…not much point checking the SeeDs rooms is there Fred?' She heard one say.

'Ah we'd better do it mate, just in case.'

She heard footsteps coming closer.

'Hey look this one's left his door open.' She heard the footsteps stop at the doorway.

'Nah there's no-one in here Fred. You check the other blokes while I check the girls' She heard the footsteps move away and breathed a sigh of relief.

She listened as they argued over who would get the honours of checking the girls room when she heard the lift doors open again.

'What are you two doing?' Said a authoritative voice.

'Oh..uh we were just deciding which room to check first, sir.' Said the one called Fred.

'Funny looked to me like you were bunking off the job as usual. Have you checked all these rooms?'

'Yes, sir.' The other man replied.

'You've checked under the beds, in the closets and in the bathrooms have you?'

'They've got private bathrooms?' 

'I'll take that as a no then shall I?' Said the higher ranked security guard. 'Well you'd better go back and check them all again. Properly this time.'

Tharria's heart pounded. They were going to find her, it was only a matter of time, and there was no way she could climb out from under here and out into the corridor quietly enough not to be caught. 

The door opened and she saw a pair of boots walk past. The closet door was opened, and then the bathroom door. Finally Tharria saw the person kneel down. She pressed herself as far back as she could into the shadow as a hand rummaged about, feeling the bag and the boots. A face appeared staring into the darkness between the boots.

'Anything?' Said a voice by the door.

'No, sir. I don't think anyone could fit into this space anyway. Mind you it's too dark to tell for sure.'

She heard a sigh from the doorway, 'Let me look, corporal.'

The face disappeared from view and was shortly replaced by another. This man pulled out the boots and bag and peered at the darkness. Tharria tried not to breathe.

'I think there's something else under here.' The man's hand groped under the bed. He touched her hand and yelled triumphantly but was cut off suddenly when Tharria's foot hit him in the mouth. He fell back and she struggled out from under the bed. One of the men made a grab at her, but she dodged and yanked his arm so he fell over with his own momentum. She was stiff though, and wasn't fast enough as she headed for the door. The only man left standing dived over his comrades who were struggling to get up and tackled her. She hit the floor with a thump.

Laguna was sat in one of the seats at the bridge staring out of the window. The Ragnorok was fast but it wasn't like you could travel from Balamb to Esthar in seconds. It would be a few hours before they reached the city. An official came up and coughed politely.

'Yes?' Said Laguna turning in his seat.

'Security say they've caught a stowaway, sir.'

'Ah, is this person armed?'

'Surprisingly not sir. It appeared the stowaway was a young girl, sir.'

Laguna frowned, 'Odd, the information indicated that it was an armed rebel.' He shrugged, 'Bring her up then, I wish to speak to her.'

'Are you sure that's wise sir?' 

Laguna nodded, 'Yes, make sure she is not armed obviously.'

'Very well, sir.'

A few moments later a security guard came in pulling a dark haired girl with him. 

'We caught her, sir! She was hiding in one of the SeeD rooms.'

'Grandfather!'

****


	4. Plunging To Earth

Disclaimer: I do not own any Final Fantasy characters and I am not making any money from this story ****

Disclaimer: I do not own any Final Fantasy characters and I am not making any money from this story.

Chapter 4

Tharria sat down beside her Grandfather ashamedly.

'Put security on red alert again. This is not the dangerous stowaway we were warned about, so keep looking.' Laguna said to the retreating security guard.

'You mean you weren't looking for me?' Tharria said stupidly.

Laguna smiled at her, 'No. Your turning up is quite a surprise…er…Why are you here exactly?'

'I was worried about you Grandfather, and besides…'

'Yes?' He said, looking at her kindly.

'I hate it there! Nothing to do except train or work while mum and dad are working.' She took a deep breath, 'But mostly because I can't stand being around dad anymore. We _really_ don't get on.'

'I see. But perhaps it's not the best time to go on a holiday to Esthar, eh Tharria?' He said teasingly.

Tharria scowled, 'Just because I'm not a SeeD doesn't mean I can't look after myself. Dad's trained me to use a gunblade since I was a kid.'

Laguna looked slightly surprised, 'But you've never wanted to be a SeeD?'

'Huh, I was never offered the chance. '

'Ah…' Laguna was silent for awhile, before he sighed. 'Well you're welcome to stay with me as long as you like. We'll have to tell Rinoa and Squall that you're coming to stay with me.'

Ragnorok lurched suddenly. And Tharria was thrown forwards, banging her head on the chair in front.

'What's wrong pilot?' Laguna said standing up.

'I don't know, sir. There's something wrong…'

The ship lurched again, and three young people rushed onto the bridge. One of them was the guy who Tharria had danced with at the ball.

'What's wrong with the ship?' Gasped the girl. She had two long auburn plaits, and Tharria remembered bumping into her the other day.

A sudden flash of light and the pilot yelled as he was thrown back from the controls by the electricity which burst from the control panel. 

'Someone's tampered with the controls, sir.' Said the pilot sitting up dazedly, 'This ship is being controlled from somewhere else onboard. Possibly by a person or more likely by a programmed controller.'

Laguna barked some orders at his security guards.

Tharria remembered the suspicious looking man in the cargo bay, and the piles of crates that it would be almost impossible to search. The SeeDs were standing waiting for orders from the look of it.

'Grandfather, I saw a suspicious looking guy in the cargo bay when I was sneaking on here!'

'Right.' He turned to the SeeDs, 'Start the search in the cargo bay. Is there anyway we can trace the signal given off by this thing?'

The blonde guy nodded, 'Yeah we have a tracer as part of our equipment, we can use that.' Tharria recognised him as Kieren Dincht, the guy in the Training Centre that night.

'I'll come.' Said Tharria, getting up out of her seat, 'My gunblade's in the cargo bay and I might need it.'

'Tharria, it could be dangerous…'

'Hey I'll be fine. It's probably only a machine right? Nothing dangerous there.' She smiled at Laguna as she followed the SeeDs out.

It was quiet down in the cargo bay except for the steady beeping of the tracer Kieren held in his hand.

'Anything yet?' The girl asked peering over his shoulder.

He pushed her back gently, 'I can't see if you've got your head in the way, Hal.'

She turned to Tharria and frowned, 'Hey aren't you the girl I bumped into the other day?'

Tharria nodded, 'Yeah…'

She giggled slightly, 'Sorry about that. Hey what's your name?'

'Tharria. And you're…Hal, right?'

'Hallie Kinneas.' 

Ah, her parents were also friends with Rinoa and Squall. Having met Selphie, if only briefly, gave quite an insight onto this girls bubbly character.

'And that's Lars.' Hallie said, indicating the other SeeD. The one who Tharria had danced with. He gave her a smile.

A more urgent beep came from the tracer and Kieren whooped triumphantly, 'Found it! This way.' He jogged off to one side of the cargo bay.

Tharria saw her rucksack on a pile and grabbed it. The reassuring weight of the sheathed gunblade inside it made her feel better.

'It's in one of these crates.' Said Kieren, stopping in front of a pile. He passed the tracer up and down the pile, and finally worked out which crate the sound was coming from.

It took a few minutes to remove the crates above it before they could even get near the crate to open it. Finally, they pulled in down.

'Got anything to pry it open with?' Asked Kieren.

'I think my sword will do it.' She got it out of the bag and unsheathed it. Kneeling, she pried the lid off. Nestled in the protective wrapping was a strange looking device with a little red flashing light on top. 

Tharria suddenly toppled forward over the crate as someone kicked her in the back.

She could hear the others yelling as she stood up. It was the man she had seen in the cargo bay the day before. He was armed with a pistol. She could feel Kieren and Lars on either side. Hallie was fiddling with the device as quickly as she could. He grinned insanely. From the man's face she could see he knew he didn't have a chance against two armed SeeDs and…well, her. 

Hallie yelled triumphantly. 'I've worked out how to get into it. From then on we can disconnect it.'

'That would be a big mistake girl.' Growled the man. Hallie pried open a small panel on the device.

Ragnorok lurched again suddenly, taking a noticeable tilt towards the ground.

'What's happening?' Yelled Kieren as he tried to keep his footing on the tilting floor.

The man grinned maniacally, 'It had a built in guard to anyone tampering with it.' He held his gun to his head.

'No, don't!' Shouted Hallie.

'Why not? We're all dead anyway.' He said, and pulled the trigger.

Tharria turned away and shut her eyes as the gunshot echoed through the cargo bay.

'Quick we've got to get outta here!' Shouted Lars, running towards the emergency hatch. A pile of parachutes were stacked beside the door, and Tharria grabbed one and pulled it on. She sheathed the gunblade at her waist.

Kieren opened the hatch and Tharria felt like she was being sucked out. Kieren jumped first, followed by Hallie. Lars gestured for Tharria to jump next.

Taking a deep breath she ran at the open doorway and leapt as far out as she could. Air rushed past her, freezing her to the bone. When she was far enough away from the Ragnorok she pulled the parachute chord.

Nothing happened.

She looked behind her and tugged on the chord again. Panic hit her as she realised that someone had tampered with the parachutes too.

She stared down at the ground as it rapidly came closer. There was just one chance…

Closing her eyes she tried to concentrate on a Float spell. It probably wouldn't stop her hitting the floor with the momentum she had behind her, but it might lessen the impact. She hoped.

Damn, it was hard to concentrate on spell casting when it is quickly becoming more likely that you'd end up about as thin as a pancake, and about as alive as one too.

Tharria clenched her fists and screwed her eyes up tight. Sparkling blue lights jumped from her hand and she felt herself slow down and finally stop.

She opened her eyes to find herself staring at the ground, which was only a few inches away from her nose. Her grip on the spell finally gave way from the shock, and she fell the last few inches to the ground.

After the dizzy, sick feeling went away, she sat up cautiously. She was sat on a small hill. A beach was a not far away, and the sea lapped the sand gently. Tharria thought she could see two figures flailing about in the water. One had auburn hair, and the other was blonde.

Huh, yeah they get blown over so they fall into nice, soft water. 

Scanning the water she looked for Lars, but couldn't see him anywhere. Perhaps he was unlucky, like me, she thought. And tried to shrug away the sad feeling and to reassure herself.

Standing a little unsteadily she headed towards the beach, gunblade bouncing off her hip as she walked.

Hallie was clambering out of the water just as Tharria ran onto the sand. Her clothes dripped water onto the golden sand, and one of the ties holding her plaits had come undone, and her hair was rapidly unravelling over one shoulder. She collapsed onto her knees when she reached the beach, coughing up seawater and getting her breath back. 

Tharria could see Kieren swimming strongly towards the shore, and within a short time he was also stepping onto the beach. He went straight over to Hallie and helped her to her feet. Tharria ran up to help the pair of them.

'Where's Lars?' asked Kieren, breathlessly.

'I…don't know.' Tharria said, trying to keep her voice level. The full impact of what had just happened was beginning to seep into her mind. They finally made it back onto the grass, and Tharria left Kieren to deal with Hallie.

'Hey where are you going?' Kieren shouted after her.

'I'm going to look for Lars,' she shouted back over her shoulder, 'He might be injured too.'

Kieren nodded and turned back to Hallie.

Tharria headed up the hill, in the hope that the view would give her some idea where they were. Perhaps some landmarks, or towns…or even Ragnorok. She refused to believe that it had crashed into the sea, and sunk into its briny depths. Laguna had still been onboard, and Tharria couldn't bring herself to think of him as…dead. 

She stopped when she came to the top, and bent over trying to get her breath back. The aches and pains she sustained during her fight with security and then the fall were coming back with vengeance. Tharria gritted her teeth and stood upright.

Miles and miles of gently waving grass spread off ahead. Tharria could now see that they were on some kind of pinnacle of land, sticking out to sea. She scanned the long grass for the sign of Lars, and finally found what she was looking for. A depression in the grass further down the hill suggested that something heavy was lying there.

Tharria broke into a run, trying to avoid twisting her ankle in a hidden hole. Tharria could see a dark shape lying in the grass now, and tried to run faster. Out of breath she knelt at his side and checked his pulse. He was still alive, just. It looked like he had also tried to cast float but hadn't been quick enough. Even so the spell had probably saved his life.

She rolled him over gently, and checked him over. He was unconscious, and Tharria thought that he had broken his left arm in two places. It looked like he had landed on it. Satisfied that he could be moved, she looked around to see if she could spot Kieren and Hallie so they could help her out. She remembered that they were on the other side of the hill.

She was going to have to get him back on her own. Tharria took a deep breath, and after several attempts, managed to get him over her shoulders in a 'Fireman's Lift'. Gritting her teeth she staggered forward. Lars was quite a bit heavier than her, and his height wasn't helping either. She grumbled under her breath all the way up the hill, trying to ignore the screaming pain in her legs and back.

__

Authors Notes: Ok, my apologies for the space of time between uploads, but for some reason I'm having real trouble. It keeps saying I'm uploading a non-HTML file, when I'm not. Anyway, I'll try and get the other chapters up as quickly as I can, LOL.


	5. Under A Moonlit Sky

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Final Fantasy characters, and I'm not making any money from this ****

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Final Fantasy characters, and I'm not making any money from this.

Chapter 5

Rinoa stared out through the window over the curved form of Balamb Garden. She sighed, and rubbed her head tiredly.

They had discovered Tharria missing three days ago. It was no trouble to guess that she'd sneaked onto Ragnorok somehow to be with Laguna. Squall had spoken to various people working on the ship and a few had given accounts of a girl of Tharria's description getting onto the ship dressed as a worker. 

Rinoa glanced out of the window again, as if she expected to see the Ragnorok land and Tharria to run out and greet her mother like she'd never been away. 

Rinoa stood up abruptly, and wiped her wet eyes. The Ragnorok wouldn't be taking off from anywhere for a long time. They'd found it crash landed on an unpopulated area of the Esthar continent. There had been no survivors. 

They'd found the body of the pilot. It looked like he'd stayed on to the end with the failing ship. A few of the personnel had also been found, dead. But there was no sign of the SeeDs, Laguna or the guards.

Rinoa walked steadily down the corridor towards the lift, her heels clacking on the floor. Squall had been working non-stop since they'd heard about the accident trying to find out exactly what happened. It looked like a terrorist attack on the ship had gone wrong. They'd found the last remnants of what could have been some kind of controlling device. It looked like it had caused the ship to dive for the ground when it had been tampered with.

She was nearly at the exit now, she noticed that the noise was unusually subdued for this time of day. The whole of Garden was mourning. President Laguna had been fairly familiar face at Balamb. Kieren, Hallie and Lars were young SeeDs who had disappeared on their first mission, and then there was Tharria. Most had not met her, but the sadness that must have shown on Squall and Rinoa's faces affected the cadets too.

Slamming the door of the car behind her, Rinoa started up the engine of the car, and drove out of the car park. There was another thing too. Some of the parachutes had been used, but when properly investigated it had turned out that they had been deliberately tampered with. Anyone using them would drop to their death. The number of parachutes missing from the cargo bay and bridge had equalled the number of missing people.

The sun shone down onto Rinoa's dark hair as it was whipped about by the wind. Rinoa put her foot down onto the gas and the car jumped forward. She hadn't been so reckless since she was a little bit older than Tharria, but still it wasn't like she had much left to worry about anyway. Tharria was gone, and it seemed as if Squall would spend the rest of his life scouring the Esthar continent for her.

It was late afternoon by the time Rinoa reached her destination. The white house shone nearby, it's dark vines covering the old building like a blanket.

Rinoa knocked on the door timidly. A tall dark-haired woman answered, and the sound of many children playing could be heard.

'Rinoa!' Said the woman, she saw tears well up in Rinoa's eyes. 'Oh, what's wrong my dear? Come in, don't stand there on the front step.'

Rinoa stepped into the main room. About 7 children were sat around playing various different games, most of them loud, and boisterous. Tharria had never played like that. She'd always been training with Squall or quietly working away at something. The thought of her daughter only made the tears come faster, and a sob tore from her throat.

'Oh Edea…sh..she's g-ggone Edea. My little g-girl's gone…and Squall t-too.' She felt Edea's arm around her shoulders and she turned and wept on the woman's shoulder.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tharria opened her eyes and wondered where she was. The sky above was a deep, velvety blue that was speckled with glittering stars. Sitting up she peered at the two recumbent figures around the dying fire they had made earlier. 

Kieren was curled protectively around Hallie's sleeping form. Tharria smiled to see the two of them snuggling up to each other to keep warm. She stopped smiling abruptly when she realised that the fourth member of the party was missing. Lars hadn't awoken from his fall when she had gone to sleep. It had made it easier for her to re-set the bone in his arm, although luckily the only damage to his legs seemed to be a bruised ankle, so he'd probably be ok to walk, if he was careful.

Standing up, Tharria gasped as she looked out over the bay. The moon was huge here, and a beautiful pearlescent white. Low on the horizon, it reflected pale white light across the ripples, giving the whole area a glow. Tharria spotted a dark silhouette in the water and made her way down to the beach.

Warm sand filtered between her tired bare feet, and Tharria wriggled her toes in delight. She sighed happily, it was so beautiful and peaceful. Her step became bouncy and half-skipping as she headed for the figure in the water. Tharria grinned to herself, and viewed the panoramic scene once more.

*I could stay here forever…*

The reality of the situation hit her as she realised that this thought could very well come true, although not in the way she hoped necessarily. She stopped her bouncy walk as she noticed the figure walking through the surf on the beach. It was Lars.

Tharria's jaw dropped open as he stepped onto the damp sand. He was totally naked. His well muscled body shone in the glow of the moon, and tiny droplets of water in his hair, each one reflecting the moonlight. Tharria noticed he was staring at her with a mixed look of surprise, embarrassment and something Tharria couldn't recognise.

The spell broke and he turned trying to cover himself up, whilst Tharria slammed her eyes shut and gabbled apologies. Finally, Lars informed her that he was dressed, and she could open her eyes. She opened her eyes, and there was an awkward silence, during which Tharria began to blush a dull red. Lars coughed slightly and tried to walk over to her. He put his foot down and made a sharp hissing noise between his teeth, bringing his foot up and rubbing his ankle.

Tharria was kneeling in front of him as quick as a flash, supporting his foot and frowning at the large purple mark staining his skin.

'You need to rest this,' She said reprovingly, 'What the hell were you doing coming down here for a quick swim with no-one else awake to help you if you got into trouble?'

Lars scowled at her, 'I woke up and everyone else was sleeping. Since I thought that you might need your sleep, I came down here by myself. I can swim perfectly well using only my good arm, and it took away some of the aching ok? Sorry for not first consulting your Majesty…'

'Hey that's not fair! If it weren't for me you'd still be lying half-dead in some long grass, with your chances of surviving about as much as a rabbit that stumbled into a T-Rexaur nest!' Tharria snapped at him, 'I carried you up to the camp, and then tended to your wounds, and the thanks I get is that you run off and ruin all my good work by drowning yourself.'

His face mollified a bit and he said, 'You saved me?' His scowl deepened again and he pulled his foot from her grip, 'Hah! Like hell you could carry me. You aren't even a SeeD? I don't know who you are and I don't like your high and mighty attitude, so you can just get lost and leave me alone.' Turning he attempted to stride off up the beach towards the camp. After a few steps his ankle gave way, and he fell heavily onto the sand.

Tharria turned her back to him angrily and stared out over the sea. She heard him breathing heavily behind her as he tried to get himself up again only to collapse back to the sand. The scowl faded from Tharria's face, and she felt ashamed that she'd let this….this _boy _make her angry. She'd been taught from childhood never to let her temper take over.

Turning, Tharria walked over to Lars' prone form and hauled him up, taking care to support him. She could see how pale his face was from the pain and how hard he was trying to fight the urge to scream.

'I think I can cast another Cure on your ankle, although you know it will only take away the pain. Your ankle will still be weak so your in danger of forgetting and doing yourself more damage…' Lars nodded tersely, and Tharria closed her eyes and concentrated on the spell. When she opened her eyes, Lars was looking much better and the blue sparkles of light were fading.

'C'mon, I'll help you back to the fire.' She said, placing her arm around his back and helping him carefully towards the others.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Sir! Where are you going? We'll have to warn security tha…' The man stopped short as Balamb's renowned leader turned and glared at him.

'I am going somewhere, _alone_, and I don't wish to be disturbed by _anything, _least of all by that bunch of bumbling idiots that call themselves security.'

The man gulped nervously, and scurried off towards the wreckage of Ragnorok where people were still working to discover exactly what had happened. Squall watched him go, before turning and striding towards the nearby trees.

Once confident that he was a safe distance from the terrible scene, the disapproving frown he usually wore, slid from Squall's face, and he sat on a moss covered rock, rubbing his head tiredly.

He'd been working non-stop since the accident had been reported. Leading every search team through the wreckage personally, helping the research and forensics team. And all for what? They hadn't discovered the remains of Laguna, the three SeeDs or Tharria. They had discovered parachutes missing from both the cockpit and the cargo bay, and also that all the remaining parachutes had been tampered with, suggesting that whoever had used the missing ones had had their lives significantly shortened as a result.

Squall put his head in his hands as the tears began to fall. The thought of Tharria plunging to her death, all the time knowing that soon she would……she would…And the alternative, being crushed or burnt to death as the Ragnorak careened into the ground. Rinoa was far away, safe in Balamb Garden but how he missed her. She was the only one, the _only _one who he could truly talk to. He told her everything, safe in the knowledge that Rinoa would never judge him or push him away. 

The lack of radio coverage here meant that he hadn't spoken to her for days, or anyone from Balamb for that matter, and now he felt more alone and helpless than ever before. Tharria was….gone. Lying dead out in the middle of unpopulated land. His only child, the only one he cared for as much as Rinoa. The only one he had ever….cried for…

__

The nurses and doctors were crowded around the bed, something was going wrong. He was standing to one side, helpless again, all he could do was watch until finally one of the nurses asked him to leave. They'd had to forcefully throw him out of the delivery room.  
Finally, a nurse had come and told him to follow her to the small private room where Rinoa lay, pale and sweaty. The baby in the plastic see-through incubator beside the bed was tiny, and surrounded by tubes and machines.  
Squall went carefully around the bed and kissed his wife. Taking her hand he looked down at the tiny baby who slept on.  
'Squall…' Rinoa's voice was sad, and he turned to her instantly, 'Squall, she's terribly weak…she…may not survive her first few days and when she grows…she may be incredibly susceptible to illness.' Rinoa started to cry. 'I'm so sorry Squall, I wanted to give you a…child who you could be proud of, a child who would be strong and clever like her father, but from what the doctors say she'll need constant looking after and I know that's not what you hoped…' He silenced her with a kiss.  
'Shh…you're tired Rin just calm down.' He took a deep breath, 'No matter how this kid grows up, I will be proud of her whatever she does, and who cares about how strong she seems now? Strength and cleverness can be attained no matter how you start off in life. I can teach her to be strong Rin…'

*Yeah, but you got caught up on that didn't you Squall? You realised her potential and forgot about why you were teaching her in the first place. You taught her like she should be glad of getting your full attention, be glad at having her full potential fine tuned by you. You never bothered to ask her if there was anything else she wanted, you never showed her you _were_ proud. You forgot to be a father, you forgot to show your love…*

Squall raised his head from his hands slightly and stared sadly into the trees ahead, 'And now it's too late…' He whispered, and sighed sadly to himself. Standing, he tried to dry his wet face on his sleeve and sniffed. 

*Time to go and face the troops again I guess*

Squall turned towards the camp, and something hit him across the head. The world went dark, as he fell backwards onto the soft forest floor. The woman standing over him smiled cruelly and lowered the rock she'd used to hit him. Turning away contemptuously, dark figures swarmed from the trees and picked up Squall's unconscious form. The woman tossed her head, causing flame coloured curls to fan out behind her.

'Bring him. Next we'll fetch his _lovely _sorceress wife and the one they call Matron, ' She smiled cruelly, her violet eyes as hard as agates, 'And then we'll have a full set.'

****

Author's Notes: Yaaaaay! Another chapter (finally) up and all thanx to the person who emailed me and said they wanted more. Hope you enjoyed it, and I am writing chapter 6 as you read this…unless it's lunchtime in which case I'm probably eating, but you know what I mean. LOL Fortywinx


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